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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

Balloons operated by Google, AT&T, and T-Mobile have provided Internet connectivity to about 100,000 residents [theverge.com] in Hurricane-stricken Puerto Rico, although about half of the cell sites servicing the island of 3.5 million people are down:

Alphabet's Project Loon, which last month partnered with AT&T and T-Mobile to bring LTE connectivity to disaster-stricken Puerto Rico [theverge.com], says its helium air balloons have delivered internet to 100,000 residents on the island. A significant portion of Puerto Rico, still struggling to recover from the effects of Hurricane Maria, is still without cell tower reception, with the Federal Communications Commission reporting earlier today [fcc.gov] that nearly 44 percent of Puerto Rico cell sites are still out of service. Loon deployed balloons in late October in what was its fastest-ever deployment in an effort to help residents get back online as soon as possible.

Also at Engadget [engadget.com] and 9to5Google [9to5google.com].

Previously: Alphabet Deploys Project Loon Balloons to Puerto Rico [soylentnews.org]

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